Candy Strikers

February 3, 2006|By Karla D. Shores Education Writer

For some kids it's in one ear, out the other.

Then, there are the fourth- and fifth-graders of North Side Elementary School in Fort Lauderdale.

After being drilled for more than a year on the evils of empty calories and candy, 19 students at the school took a stand against selling sweets and salty snacks to raise money for field trips to Washington, D.C., and Tallahassee.

For more than three months, Monique Manigat's gifted class of fourth- and fifth-graders vowed not to sell chocolate bars, potato chips and hard candy because they don't want to promote what they've been taught to avoid in a wellness program offered at their school.

Who started this whole thing?

Students affably point to Daphnie Auguste, an articulate 10-year-old who rattles off the ills of sugar and fat with the polish of a seasoned dietician.

"If they tell us to don't eat junk food and then after school we sell it, that disobeys what they said," said Auguste, who hasn't raised one dollar toward her personal $455 goal. "I'm happy because people won't get fat. But I'm sad because how are we going to get the money to go on our field trip?"

Manigat said her class of 19 is in charge of the fund-raiser for 72 students who planned to go on the field trips. Manigat tried to organize car washes for her students but said businesses asked her to pay insurance for the students, something the school can't afford.

Collectively, the students are still thousands of dollars behind. Fourth-graders, who have already missed their deadline, still need $5,000 for their three-day trip in April to St. Augustine and Tallahassee.

The fifth-graders have until the end of February to raise a remaining $12,000 needed for a weeklong trip in May to Williamsburg, Va., and Washington D.C.

Out of fairness, if one can't go, no one goes, said Manigat.

"Parents are contributing as much as they can. They just don't have the means to foot the whole bill," said Manigat.

Almost 80 percent of the school's 526 students are eligible for free and reduced lunch.

The students are part of a two-year-old program called Schools of Wellness, a partnership with Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital Foundation that teaches healthy eating and exercise to 8,000 students in Palm Beach and Broward counties, said Cathy Whitt, Broward County coordinator for Schools of Wellness.

The program, funded through a three-year $1.4 million grant from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and other organizations, targets schools whose students are more prone to such health risks as obesity and diabetes.

Manigat, who is also the school's wellness liaison, said she is proud of her students for standing by their principles. None of the students protested the idea to boycott candy sales.

"They brought it up. It was their concern," said Manigat.

If her students change their minds, Manigat said she would gladly buy candy for her students to re-sell. In the past, students have easily raised about $300 a week for field trips by selling snacks, Manigat said.

But they're still not budging, so much so that they're willing to forgo their trips if they can't raise money selling something healthy or inedible.

"We could sell bracelets or rings, but not candy," said Saint Remy, a fourth-grader who still needs to raise $65 for her field trip. "We want the other kids to be healthy."

For more information on Schools of Wellness log onto www.schoolsofwellness.com.

Karla Shores can be reached at kshores@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4552.